Many collectors have been hoping the day will come when some of the most beloved sports movies make their way to the hobby. While there are cards for some, most often they're promo cards or premiums found in DVDs and Blu-rays. Or, companies produce carefully disguised cards that skirt around licensing issues. Well, Panini has got the job done, at least for one film. They have several cards and autographs slated for 2013 Panini Golden Age Baseball that celebrate The Bad News Bears (the original version, not the remake).

A total of six characters from the film have base cards in the set as well as on-card autographs:

Tatum O'Neal as Amanda Whurlitzer

Jackie Earle Haley as Kelly Leak

Erin Blunt as Ahmad Abdul Rahim

Gary Lee Cavagnaro as Engelberg

David Pollock as Rudi Stein

David Stambaugh as Toby Whitewood

The cards all feature shots from the film and not modern photos like a lot of pop culture-focused sets. They're also fully licensed by Paramount giving Panini the chance to use the movie's logo and uniforms.

You can see a full gallery of cards as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how these cards came together on Panini's blog.

In addition to base cards, the Bad News Bears are included in the mini card parallels as well as some basic inserts.

2013 Panini Golden Age Baseball is a nod to Baby Boomers, mixing baseball and pop culture primarily, from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The set is scheduled to release on June 26.

Ryan Cracknell | E-Mail | URLRyan is a former member of The Cardboard Connection Writing Staff.
His collecting origins began with winter bike rides to the corner store, tossing a couple of quarters onto the counter and peddling home with a couple packs of O-Pee-Chee hockey in his pocket. Today, he continues to build sets, go after inserts with cool technologies, chase Montreal Expos and finish off his John Jaha master collection.